Artist of the Day | WAYLEY
ARTIST OF THE DAY
02.03.2021
WAYLEY
LOCATION
Toronto, ON
GENRE
Folk/Pop
CURRENT MEMBERS
Wayley
With the current pandemic, the state of the music and touring industry has dramatically changed. Where were you when everything was brought to a halt?
I was on Tour for my other project called 'Andrew Sherriff' when everything was brought to a halt in March of 2020. We had 150 shows booked for that year, and we had made it through about 25 of them by the time Covid came & everything got cancelled. It was quite a shock to us, and certainly very heart breaking at the time. I didn't even get to play our final show on March 13th, because I had to get an emergency procedure done at the hospital. Ultimately, It's what sparked me launching Wayley in May of 2020. It was a project I had been working on for a while, but needed to find the time to put some final touches on it before releasing my first single. With the world coming to a halt, all of my other shows had been cancelled for the unforeseeable future and I had lost my job, so I all of a sudden had a lot of free time to work on Wayley.
How has that affected your plans for the coming year? Did you have a tour planned, upcoming album release?
Essentially, it completely shifted my entire life around. My life now revolves around Wayley and it has become the number one main focus in my life. I spent the last year developing things as much as I could. I've spent countless hours writing new music & recording demos. I've got a whole team around Wayley now, and we've created some amazing pieces of content for my debut Wayley EP that we are going to finally be dropping in a months time!
What have you been doing to fill/make the most of your new-found free time at home? How are you supporting your mental health through all of this?
At the rate that Wayley has been excelling, I've almost had no free time at all in the past year. My days are packed with recording sessions, zoom meetings, phone calls, writing sessions, content creating.. the list goes on. I'm so grateful to be able to put the focus and energy that I am right now into my music. It's truly a dream come true. My release, and what has been keeping me sane throughout all of this has definitely been surfing. I'm part of a great little community of Lake Surfers here on Ontario, and I go out every time there are waves on the lakes for a nice little surf session to clear the mind and get some exercise.
How are dealing with the Covid second wave?
It's been tough. Like many, I haven't seen a lot of my family or friends in months. I definitely have days where I can get really down about that, but I try to shift that energy as quick as possible, and remember that it's only temporary. Being busy with music, and having a sport that I can partake in safely has really helped me cope throughout this last year, and especially the second wave.
Do you have a message for everyone at home reading this?
Keep working hard for what you believe in. Opportunities present themselves in so many different ways when you least expect them. Stay safe and stay healthy folks!
If you would like to be our next ARTIST OF THE DAY please email us at:
JEN@CONCERTWORKS.CA
